Nokia remains on top of the mid-range and entry-level mobile markets which are mostly composed of mobiles that are equipped with an alphanumeric pad. However, the same cannot be said about their market performance in the high end, touch Smartphone scene.

With the X3 Touch and Type, they are hoping to break borders by combining these two features in a single, multi-purpose device.

Hoping for a Break

The Nokia X3 Touch and Type isn’t the first ever mobile to combine a touch screen display and a standard alphanumeric keypad. There have been a lot of manufacturers that have gone through this same route, but unfortunately very few (if any) have succeeded.

Nokia hopes to break this trend with the X3 Touch and Type. The manufacturer will surely be banking on their success in the mid-range market and launch yet another mobile that satisfies the needs of the consumers without burning a hole in their wallets.

Knowing them, the Nokia X3 Touch and Type may very well be able to revolutionize this unusual mobile phone functionality combo.

Features

The Nokia X3 Touch and Type isn’t all about the buzz that is brought about by its uncommon architecture. It also packs in a lot of impressive features.

Aside from the typical mobile phone features, we were impressed by the mobile’s 5-Megapixel camera. It also comes with Wi-Fi connectivity which has become quite a rarity for mid-range mobiles.

Also worth mentioning is the compact design of the device as it is only 9.6 mm thin. Oh, and it also comes in a number of attractive colours such as black, white, blue, gray, and pink.

In the meanwhile, Nokia X6 owners might want to look at the following changes that the update will also bring. The Ovi Store is getting some component specific updates. This includes the Ovi Store itself which will be getting Ovi Music, Ovi Store 1.5.6, Ovi Contacts 1.50.8, and Ovi Sync 2.0. These are mostly optimization updates so users should not expect to see any drastic changes to the user interface.

New apps have also been added into the system as well. A 30 day trial for Shazam has been added along with the Rihanna service launcher. The appshell itself has been improved with better kinetic scrolling (which probably takes out the occasional skipping during the scroll). The Flash player on the X6 is also getting a quick update with Flash Lite 3.1.7x.

The phone’s user interface is getting a slight adjustment with the enabled Slide Lock Key function that will be used in the swipe UI. In the meanwhile, users of Exchange might be happy to know that Mail for Exchange is getting updated to version 2.9.210

The browser is getting a nice improvement with version 7.2. This update not only makes the browser load pages faster, but it also enables gestures like pinch zooming –though some users who have downloaded the patch are claiming that pinch is not enabled.

Made for the fun loving crowd that still wants quality handsets, the X5-01 brings together reliable smart phone commodities with new intuitive gesture controls to help make the music listening experience a whole lot better –spin the device around and it will skip to a random track on your playlist. There is both fun and functionality in this device, which makes it one device that you should not fail to check out.

So, speaking of the handset’s features, this new Nokia music phone comes in a variety of colors: azure, purple, yellow green, pink, graphite black are among the confirmed selections, but we would not be surprised if Nokia adds more choices to the list. The slide out QWERTY keyboard makes the thickness worth it as typing on the buttons feels quite natural and almost on the same level of efficiency as a BlackBerry device.

Nokia’s Symbian^3 operating system brings plenty of functions, features and of course, app support from the Ovi store. Sadly, the device lacks GPS support so it cannot make use of the free Ovi maps features (nor will it allow you to log into foursquare –which is a very important feature for this device’s target market).

As a music phone, the X5-01 delivers. The 2.3 inch TFT display provides users with a clear view of current track and the playlist, and the controls are easy to fiddle around with. The audio quality of the loudspeaker is quite clear and the device’s 3.5mm audio jack lets users have their own choice of headsets.

In the end however, not a lot of people were willing to shell out lots of money on a music smart phone and spend time downloading so many tracks. Also, music fans already have large libraries of digital music to use. The additional cost brought about by the download deal made the phone very unappealing even to its target market.

Now, Nokia is planning to revive the X6 with a new, more reasonable 16GB of internal storage and no Comes with Music package. This means that buying the device no longer meant paying extra for a service that would hardly be used.

A few weeks back, Nokia announced that all of its Ovi maps capable devices would be receiving free satellite navigation services with voice –increasing the value of many Nokia phones, including the X6.

As for the X6, it will be beefing up its digital content lineup with exclusive titles and content. Showcasing the X6’s music and video playing capabilities will be the new goal for Nokia regarding the device.

It has been confirmed that the phone will be released this coming February 24, 2010. No word has been given if any mobile network operator is offering the device.

Get the full news report on the Nokia X6 at Mobile Today.

The bar phone has a very trendy and sleek look and targets mainly the youth. Not only is it extremely sexy but the fact that it comes with the Comes With Music service means that you get unlimited music for one whole year for absolutely no cost and you get to keep the music with you even after the one year.

The phone has a whooping 32 GB of internal memory. The connectivity options include 3G with HSDPA and Wi-Fi, meaning that you will be able to surf and download items at high speed from the internet. The microUSB port at the top of the phone enables you to transfer any items easily between the computer and the phone.

The 3.2 inch capacitive touchscreen is Nokia’s first stab at a capacitive screen. The screen is really good as you can navigate through the phone with a flick of your finger rather than having to press it hard. The massive 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and a Carl Zeiss optics lens, meaning that you can shoot super – clear pictures. The presence of a dual LED flash means that pictures taken in low light will also be clear. VGA recording is possible on the phone.

The phone isn’t too small, but it doesn’t feel uncomfortable in your hand. However, the fact that it is built entirely from plastic makes it a bit of a dampner. The price, too, seems to be a bit too high at 400 pounds, but we expect it to fall once it is released near Christmas. If you are not too keen on forking out that much you can always get the Nokia X6 on contract for a monthly payment.

But what the fudge are we supposed to do with the Nokia N97 Mini. Because… well… that’s it. It’s an n97, but smaller. More mini. Less maxi.

It does all the things the n97 does, but in a more miniature way. Just as the normal n97 does all the things the n97 mini does, but in a more maximum zoom kind of way. Not that that makes any sense.

Well, they’re not completely identical, we hear some pedants at the back arguing. The mini Nokia N97 comes with only 8GB of internal storage, whereas the big boned original had a whopping 32GB. But then you can buy a 16GB microSD card for about £25 if you shop around, so that’s not really an issue. And there’s all sort of hoo-haa about how the mini is more connected, and allows people to update their status on Facebook even quicker than ever. However, try as we might, we can’t find a £25 solution to this travesty.

There’s a bunch more actual opinion in this Nokia N97 mini review, but we’ve simply, honestly, got nothing to say. Apart from: go look at these Nokia N97 Mini deals, and ooohhh, shiny, look at that (in relation to perhaps the only good video Nokia have made about one of their products in the last five years that you can find below):

With this rule in mind, we feel confident to explain to you how even though the Nokia X6 is three times more expensive than its little brother the X3 (see previous blog post) it is also three times as good. Or, to put it mathematically: X3 x 3 = X6.
- The X3 has a 2.2” non-touch screen, whereas the X6 has a 3.2” touchscreen with accelerometer
- The Nokia X6 has 32GB of internal memory, whereas the X3 can only go as high as 16GB, and that only by buying additional microSD memory
- The X6 can play back music for 35 hours. So can the X3
- The 5MP camera on the X6 trumps the 3.2MP camera on the X3
- Plus there are at least 12 other areas in which the X6 comes out on top.

So, 3.2” – 2.2” = 1 then 32GB / 16GB = 2; 35 hours balances that, so we still just have a 1 and a 2. 1 + 2 = 12, which matches the last point. So therefore the maths is right.

See? Do you see? Is it obvious why you should buy yourself three Nokia X6’s… no, wait. Buy Six X3’s and 12 X6’s… no, that’s not it either. You should; wait, what’s this drooling out of our ears… it looks like… like… brain matter… oh dear